Hellfyre Underground
“Rirmi is saud. Rayi ir hirjta. Nu uhutzêû ridasi.” “Born from fire. Raised in ashes. I emerged free.” “Boht doi wogha. Cueoukesa du genby. Jee docahha jeday.” These were the words the Matriarch, Leira Dhan, would say upon founding her first safehouse on Nar Shaddaa. She was a reborn woman who abandoned her past and started anew. It was time for atonement, a word so unfamiliar to the once Sith sorcerer. Her people had abandoned her just like she had abandoned her first-born years ago. She established the Hellfyre Underground soon after. The Organization. The Hellfyre Underground is a criminal organization headed by the de Vil family formerly a noble house known as House Devileryan. The current leader Lucien Crane would have been the seventeenth head of House Devileryan under his birth name Lucius de Vil. The organization originally operated on Nar Shaddaa, Tatooine and Corellia. It has expanded its reach to Coruscant, Drommund Kaas, Rishi, Zakuul, Dantooine and Mek-Sha. The Underground also has contacts on many other planets and Port Nowhere except those in active wars such as Alderaan and Balmorra for instance. The Underground survives with its partnerships and relies heavily on its neutrality until attacked. Thus why they have retaliated against the Exchange and acquired most of their Project NRG operatives when the Exchange attempted to claim ownership of the organization. The criminal organization is a courier and transportation company on paper. They actually do deliveries for whoever is willing to pay the price. As a legal business, they pride themselves as being superior to any post office. Underneath the front, the Hellfyre Underground own safehouses and warehouses on various planets and moons. They offer various services: making people disappear, erasing bounties, collecting bounties, smuggling, protecting clients, providing medical assistance, selling information, slicing, laundering, acquiring supplies, transporting and delivering goods. Protecting the anonymity of their clients and their contacts is fundamental. They pride themselves in being neutral. They also keep their safehouses open for all and offer temporary shelter. Those who want to have permanent accommodations need to work for them. The de Vil family is the most predominant power within the criminal organization. After the fall of their house around thirty years prior, they turned to the founder and matriarch Leira Dhan. Since most members of the family are at least force-sensitive, they tend to be dealing with assassinations, dangerous deliveries, and intelligence gathering. Normal people tend to deal with other services. Project NRG cyborgs would be used depending on their specialization (slicing, assassination, and smuggling). The safehouses and medical facilities within them are the Nashan branch’s domain. Many would associate the Hellfyre Underground to a specific red uniform that is recognizable from the hood to the spiky boots. The iconic look is worn primarily by the de Vil family members along with the lightsaber heirloom that they share. They are the only items along with their library and journals that they kept from the past. The family distanced themselves from their Sith past although the force-sensitives are trained to use it. About the Imperium. Civil War Era. It is also worth noting that the Underground came to contact with the Sith Imperium through Lucien Crane’s younger sibling Iclyn Wynters (born Eirene de Vil) who is currently a Darth. Initially, the Underground merely assisted Iclyn by providing her with a safehouse on Nar Shaddaa and an HK model. During the Civil War, Iclyn relied heavily on her connection to supply the Resistance mainly with food, weaponry, and medical supplies. The safehouses were off-limit. Lliara Shayde (Umbra) was a former Exchange and Project NRG operative who was freed by the Underground. She was a leading member of the Underground’s slicer team before she followed Iclyn to the Imperium. Lliara is now an honorary member and a special contact since her adoption. Post-Civil War Era. The Underground preferred to keep a relationship with the Imperium strictly limited to Iclyn Wynters and, possibly, Lliara Shayde. However, this has changed with an incident implicating the Imperium's War Minister Tyrol Marec and his family. With the news of a possible blood feud, the Underground decided to send in one of their own to keep an eye on Iclyn, but, also, keep track of any of the Marec family members in the advent that they would try to act on the blood feud. The general view of the Imperium to the Underground is neutral to disapproving. They still honor the nondisclosure agreement even keeping the name of the Imperium out of their mouths. Family History. de Vil Family. Motto: “Midwan tuti kam mis satchi tsiyikiriasû wtsia tuti midwan.” (High Sith for “Power is what we seek thus knowledge is power.”) Most of the records of the foundation of House Devileryan were lost in time. The Sith “house” rose to fame with the infamous, cruel and vain Malecia de Vil who became Darth Deianira or the Witch-Lord of the Catacombs. The one referred to as the ancestor of the family was described to dawn raven hair with a quarter patch of snowy hair in the front. According to her journal, the white hair appeared when she was cursed by a vengeful ghost. She was known to be quite the prodigy when it comes to draining the very essence of a soul. When she tried to use force walk on a ghost much more powerful than her, the ghost casted a curse that her family would have uncontrollable hunger. The de Vil would be insatiable when it came to knowledge or any other desires. Most would even be quite expert in using force drain, which led to insanity in many cases once their hunger was insatiable. For the most part, force-sensitive members of the de Vil family are thought how to control force drain (or to avoid using it) and to use memory walk. They are also pushed to acquire as much knowledge as possible. According to Kieron de Vil (or Lord Vilerium), the fourteenth head of the house since the Witch-Lord, there are related to Sith purebloods. Their blood purity has been quite the obsession of the family as it had been questioned many times again. According to various journals kept in the family’s vaults for generations, it was undeniable that they could trace their lineage back to the Dark Jedi of Old; however, when it came to Sith purebloods, there may have been one or two distant relatives. It was thus very diluted. Regardless, the family has always been proud to boast about the reddish-brown hue of their skin. The occasional lighter members of the family were often shun away and hidden from society. That was what the dungeons were for. Even so, it is also undeniable that the family had many runnings with the Rattataki, the violent warriors of Rattatak. In recent decades, the infamous Leira Dhan was dragged into a marriage with the fifteenth head of the family, the controversial Markos de Vil. She was a former Rattataki slave and a powerful inquisitor before she became the matriarch. House Devileryan’s family tree is separated into two main branches: the Soti (High Sith for “Pure”) and the Tzitsia zûta (High Sith for “Disgraced”). Often attributed to the point when the house began to fall from power, the family unity crumbled under the tenth head of the house. Twins were not uncommon for every generation. Usually, the firstborn would take leadership. Nero de Vil, the second son, wanted that role. The prideful Lord had it all, but so did his brother Hadeon, the true heir. The family was divided between the two and it ended up in twenty-three years of blood, misery, and death. The true heir came out victorious and forgave those who were against him. The only punishment (and shame) was that they would be referred to as the second line. It is also worth noting that the thirteenth fathered many children out of wedlock. They are the unofficial third branch known as Mirsitja (High Sith for “bastard”). Anyone with Devileryan blood since the Witch-Lord and with force-sensitivity is born with black hair, but, once their power manifests, their hair turns white. When Markos de Vil became the head of the house, the family’s reputation was so tarnished that it was no longer considered a noble house. The controversial Lord’s actions destroyed the family. His first mistake was to marry the Rattataki publicly. The blood purity of the family was under fire. It was known that his children were impure. He could not deny it and he did not care either. On top of that, it was later revealed that Leira Dhan was in a previous relationship, that Markos murdered a man (Jensen Nashan) and that her daughter from that relationship (Aestelle) was a Jedi. Markos did dispose of his wife. His second mistake was to sleep around and often with other married women. Some would argue that he actually did not discriminate when it came to the lover’s gender. He did very publicly and would boast about it. His third mistake was committing horrendous acts in the Dark Temple. All of his transgressions destroyed the family. Markos was executed even for the attempted murder of a rival Lord. The family was reformed when Leira Dhan came back as the Matriarch. Most of the family except her own children did follow her to Nar Shaddaa. Hektor de Vil would be the last head of House Devileryan. He did try to bring back the family to its former glory. The task was so immense that he became an alcoholic. His daughter Tytania de Vil (Taeddye-Rae) ended his life when a fight broke out between the two. Heliana de Vil, the Madwoman, was Hektor’s sister. She was murdered in the Dark Temple by her daughter Eirene de Vil who commit it the act in self-defense. What was left of House Devileryan was transformed into the Hellfyre Underground. Originally, it was merely a small safehouse owned by Leira Dhan and her first daughter Aestelle Nashan who left the Jedi Order and worked hard to protect children in the streets of Nar Shaddaa. With the fall of Markos, Leira brought the family in and they build an empire centered around delivering supplies. In reality, the Hellfyre Underground was a network of safe houses for people and warehouses for goods. Under the new leadership of Lucien Crane (Lucius de Vil), the Hellfyre Underground has become significantly bigger and mainly operates in Nar Shaddaa, Tatooine, Rishi, Corellia, Mek-Sha, Dantooine and Zakuul predominantly. Notable family members: * Lucien Crane (Lucius de Vil): Current Leader of the Hellfyre Underground * Michaelis Draco (Mikhail de Vil): Younger brother of Lucien; serving probation time in the Imperium * Iclyn Wynters (Eirene de Vil): Youngest sibling of Lucien; Darth within the Imperium and responsible of for the dealings in Imperium space * Taeddye-Rae Jones (Tytania de Vil): Only daughter of the last head of House Devileryan; Second-in-Command of the Hellfyre Underground and responsible for the dealings in contested space * Enyo Kek (Dubheasa de Vil): From the second line (traitor's line); Responsible for the dealings in Hutt space. She was the only one who was willing to bend the knee to the Imperium for her cousin's sake. Joined the Imperium after the family was made aware of a blood feud with Marec family of Hiigara. * Volkan Cress (Voltaire de Vil): Responsible for the dealings in Republic space * Sidero Lestat (Ephraim de Vil): Responsible for the dealings in Imperial space Nashan Family. Unlike House Devileryan, this side of the family has a very little history. Jensen Nashan was a petty criminal who rose to be a fairly known smuggler in Hutt space. He encountered Leira Dhan when she was an apprentice on a mission on Nar Shaddaa. They fell in love and Jensen was even willing to abandon crime for her. Unfortunately for Jensen, Markos de Vil had already claimed Leira for himself. Upon discovering Leira who had just gave birth and Jensen, Markos murdered Jensen and forced Leira into a marriage. The baby, Aestelle Nashan, was abandoned to an orphanage. Aestelle would be picked up by a Jedi when she as around two years old. Aestelle was raised by the Jedi and remained with them until she left the order because their ideals clashed with hers. She wanted to help others and also have free reign of her emotions. She would return to Nar Shaddaa and would take care of those in need as well as use her powers to protect the powerless. Leira Dhan would return to Nar Shaddaa when the scandal broke out. An enemy of Markos discovered that she had a child before and traced back Aestelle. The moment that it was known that she had a Jedi daughter, Markos casted Leira out of their home. The Rattataki sorceress did her own research and found her daughter. Aestelle had long been out of the Jedi Order. With her mother, Aestelle started to run a safe house for those in need. With the lack of funding, they had to commit crimes. They resorted in delivering goods for the various gangs on Nar Shaddaa. With the de Vil family's fall, the organization grew to be the Hellfyre Underground. Aestelle was able to establish more safe houses and medical facilities for everyone. They were neutral safe havens. As the organization grew bigger, Leira made sure that the Nashan maintained a hold on the safe houses while the de Vil were the ones taking care of the criminal aspects of the organization. During the time the de Vil were back in the picture, Aestelle would meet a smuggler named Raghnall "Reggie" Harkann. Their children are the ones who took the mantel. Notable family members: * Keyne Harkann: Jedi-trained; Third-in-Command of the Hellfyre Underground * Skye Harkann: Jedi-trained; responsible for the safe houses in Republic Space * Noelani Harkann: Sith-trained; responsible for the safe houses in Imperial Space * Victoria "Tori" Scirocco: Combat medic; responsible for the medical personnel of the organization Project NRG. The Project NRG (pronounced ‘Energy’) or Project Nanotechnological Re-Generation was an operation run by the Exchange’s chapter on Nar Shaddaa since around 3654 BBY. They would kidnap children from the poorest slums and they would train them to become assassins, thieves or slicers. The children would learn the basic knowledge of all three. Around the age of five and seven, the children go through several surgeries and are turned into cyborgs. The rehabilitation could and should take years, but the children were only given a maximum a year to get used to the cybernetics. Most of the NRG cyborgs currently in operation are under the care of the Hellfyre Underground as active members or reservists. The Hellfyre Underground has the entire registry of the alive and deceased cyborgs from the first generation up to the fourteenth generation, which is the last generation that came to existence. Notable operatives: * Lliara Shayde (NRG-09XB12 / Umbra)